Frontier House

by Simon Shaw

Go west with PBS in this behind-the-scenes look at the television series that sent modern-day Americans "back in time" to the harsh frontier of 1880s Montana. Frontier House America's period of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743442709
• ISBN13: 9780743442701
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.5" x 11.3"

Customer Reviews

An excellent companion to the DVD's

I read this book cover to cover and loved it... probably more than the series. Even as I write this review I find myself curling up with it again to read through a section here and there. It goes in to much greater detail about the families and their experiences. For instance you actually get to see a list of what the provisions were for the Clune family for those first five 'starving' weeks. If you think Adrienne was whining and they were just spoiled So-Cal rich people then I challenge YOU to live on that for over a month, much less a family of 6! You also get a much deeper look at what happened the day of the snowstorm and a somewhat better sense of what the final assesments said (though the full text is only available on the Frontier House page on PBS). I would love to have seen the list of items each chose to bring back with them from the experience (tools, Bible, etc - each was allowed one item as I recall). I do wish they had done a longer term follow up with the families. They do talk about the three month reunion but I'd like to see where they were at a year later or even now 8 years later. What did they carry back to the 20th century from the experience? What do they no longer take for granted having been through it? What kinds of careers have the children decided to pursue? What about Nate and Kristin? There are many 'real life' (i.e. 19th century) stories interspersed with the modern families stories and dozens of rich full color photos from the show. The main reason it will stay in my permanent collection is the beautiful photos throughout the book. I would love to get prints of a few of these to put up around my home! If you really want to follow up on the theme of the series there is a great list of resources, including some of the reproductions as well as a good Bibliography of materials. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loved the PBS series. If you haven't seen the series and decide to buy the book you should definitely buy the DVD's too, but be prepared to get Frontier fever!

Great! Now is there anymore?

I didn't think I could love anything more than watching the Frontier House series on PBS. I am pleased to report that I loved this book even more. I don't think it would be a great read for someone who hasn't seen the series, but for those of us who have and loved it this is a must have companion. The book intertwines facts about and stories of real life settlers on the Frontier with the stories of the Frontier House families, the Clunes, the Brooks, and the Glenns. It gave more indepth information about the selection process these families went through to be chosen for the show, the training they received and some of the questionable behavior they displayed while on the frontier. My absolute favorite parts where where they catalouged all of the clothing Nate Brooks was given to survive the winter as well as what rations of food the Clunes were given to last them the first five weeks of the experiment until they could get to the general store. My only complaint is that I wish they would have included this kind of information on each and every one of the participants. It may seem like minutae to some, but I loved every minute I spent with this book and have to say it was my favorite Christmas present I recieved in 2002.

Couldn't put it down.

I loved this book. It gave a lot more details than the show and tried hard not to pass judgement on the individual families. It was a hoot that the Brooks and the Clunes would not have anything to do with the petty, hyper-competitive Tennessee family after they got to know them. Even at the post-show get-together, they sat apart. The Tennessee wife, in particular, was much more focused on one-upping the other families than simply curious to see if she could cope with 1880's hardships. She was what my grandmother would have called a "pill." One of the family members in the book made an interesting observation: he had hoped to get away from the frenetic busy-ness of modern day living, but instead found himself living just an 1880's version of freneticism, working nonstop. Finally, the book left me feeling that only one person in each family was actually gung-ho about participating in Frontier House. The rest of the groups went along, but not as enthusiastically. Personally, one day without diet pop, hormone replacement therapy, and microwave ovens, and I'd be ready to kiss suburbia and strip malls on the lips.

As Good If Not Better Than The Series

This book is proof positive why movies will NEVER replace the written word.There were six of us who, together, watched this PBS television series about seeing if three modern day families could survive being Montana homesteaders in 1883. They had to dress from the period, use tools and medicine from the period, and eat the types of foods available for the time of year (summer) that they were living in (not like today where we can eat any vegetable any time of year). We were all hooked and couldn't wait 'til the next episodes. After each of the three nights it was shown, we would have these great discussions about what we saw, and offered our own opinions about each family and how well (or how poorly) they were doing compared to the others. But we had questions - a lot of them. Questions like, did they really drink the water from the stream? After all, you don't know what bacteria and year 2001 pollutants could be in it. Also, how different were their lives in comparison to the actual homesteaders of the 19th century? These questions and many others we would answer with our own opinions instead of the facts. Well, now we have the facts. This book has more than answered all of our questions. We also got to know each family a little better and realized that the TV series didn't do each family justice (except the Brooks family). There was so much more that happened than was shown that they could have (SHOULD have) made the series at least two hours longer! There is MUCH more detail, and many more explanations in this book that it acually brought the whole experiment to life more vividly than watching the show! It even gives a rather enjoyably well written history of the REAL homesteaders and tells what their lives were actually like. If you enjoyed the series (and didn't get enough of it), this book is just what you need. It is written in a lively 'I can't put this down!' manner. Highly recommended!

If you liked the show, get the book!

I saw the show and had numerous questions and a desire tofind out more about the families and the details of theproject. This book answers nearly all of the questionsand gives considerably more detail. It also portrays the families and individuals in a more sympathetic andrealistic light. The photos and layout of the book area pleasure, it is worth the price!